


Cliche

by KennaxVal



Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-12 02:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaxVal/pseuds/KennaxVal





	Cliche

I was at the bar, consuming an amount of whiskey that would be irresponsible for anyone else to drink. Problem was, it was the worst I’ve ever had. The whiskey itself was fine, but the feelings I brought to the bar made even my favorite activity unpleasant.

What kind of man was I? Here my best friend in the world, King Liam Rys, entrusts me to look over Marie, and I screw it up by falling in love with her. At first, I thought she was an annoyance; just some ignorant American girl looking to live out some Disney movie fantasy about marrying a handsome prince. But as I got to know her, I saw something different. There was real depth to her, and I understood why Liam took to her so quickly.

It’s unbelievable how badly I screwed this up. Out of all these fancy royal types with their heads up their asses, Liam was the only one who didn’t make me feel like a dirty peasant. And look how I repaid him.

The situation was impossible. Either Marie’s in love with Liam and my heart breaks seeing them together, or she loves me, and I’m a traitor to my best friend. I may not be that great, but one thing I wouldn’t do is betray Liam. I determined that I had to leave Cordonia first thing in the morning. It was settled; I’d go home, sober up and get out of here. Maybe I’d go to some tropical island and live out the rest of my days in peace.

“Is this seat taken?”

I turn around to see Liam, and from the look on his face, he already had an idea what was going on.

“Look, Liam, I didn’t mean for things to end up like this.”

Liam gave me a half-hearted smile, “does Marie feel the same way about you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, staring at my glass. I couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“Why don’t you ask her?”

The question threw me off. Did Liam just encourage me to express my feelings to Marie? Then again, that’s Liam in a nutshell; more concerned with the happiness of others than himself.

“I mean… isn’t she your girl?” I asked him after he ordered a drink of his own, “I know you gotta say you’re with Madeline for now, but after all this Tariq business is cleared up, I thought you two were gonna get married.”

Liam lightly chuckled and took a sip of his whiskey. “I obviously don’t have the fondness for this stuff that you do, but it’s a nice drink to have every now and then.” He drinks in silence, then answers my question, “it’s up to her who she’ll end up with, Drake. I considered the possibility that you two might get close, but not this much.” He downed the rest of his drink. “I love her, Drake, but I think you love her more.”

“What are you saying?” I was shocked by his statement.

“What I’m saying is that you have my blessing if that’s what you’re seeking. Go to Marie, tell her how you feel, and let her make up her mind. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

I wanted to rush over to Marie at that second, but I had to make sure Liam wasn’t just trying to make me feel better.

“Liam,” I asked him, “are you really going to be ok? The thought of you and Madeline…”

“Not to worry, my friend,” he says as he pulls out a picture from his pocket, “I already called off the engagement. She wasn’t happy about it, of course, but she knew I made the announcement under duress. The fact is, I’ve been spending a great deal of time with Lady Elizabeth. I love Marie, but just as a friend. Elizabeth is the one for me, and after seeing what happened to Marie, I didn’t want that to happen to Elizabeth as well, so I’m keeping her out of the spotlight for now. She wasn’t considered a favorite by the press, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

The relief poured over me, making me feel light as a feather. I also felt like a fool for not talking to Liam sooner; this misconception I had could have been resolved much sooner. We talked for a while; long enough for me to sober up. He and I shared a hug, and I raced over to the Beaumont house, hoping to find Marie. Instead, I found out that she was on her back to the airport. Back to New York, and out of my life.

Maxwell and Bertrand rode with me as I peeled out of the driveway, racing to the airport as though my life depended on it. To be honest, it did; once I fell in love with Marie, there was no going back. I needed her to at least know how I felt about her, even if she didn’t feel the same way about me.

It was nothing short of a miracle that I didn’t cause an accident or get pulled over, but that was the last thing on my mind. My heart pounded as I flew through the terminal, leaving Maxwell and Bertrand in the dust.

Just as she was standing up, about to board, I called out to her. “Marie! Marie!” She turned around, and I’ll never forget the look on her face. Her jaw dropped, then transitioned into a smile; she seemed to glow. I rushed over to her and wiped the tears away from her face.

“Whitley,” I said to her shaking, perhaps wishing I had some liquid courage at that moment, “before you go, I need you to know that I love you. During our time together, I’ve seen how special you are, and I know I’m probably too rough-edged for someone like you, but I had to get that off my chest. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if wasn’t honest with you.”

Aggressively, she grabbed my shirt collar. “I have been waiting forever for you to say that. Now kiss me, you big dummy.”

I laughed and tasted her lips. It was the taste that I’ve been looking for my whole life. Afterward, I couldn’t help but tease her for pursuing one movie cliche with King Liam, and falling for another with me; the guy who stops the love of his life just before she boards a plane out of his life.

Eventually, we got married. Much to my delight, Liam agreed to be my best man, cheering us both on, and happy in his own relationship with Elizabeth, the future queen of Cordonia.


End file.
